Drum handling mechanism



May 12, 1959 jr, .w c 2,886,273

DRUM HANDLING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 30, 1956 2 'Sheets-Shegt 1 INVENTOR.

RCu T. Wachob AGENT y 1959 R. T. WACHOB 2,886,273

, DRUM HANDLING MECHANISM Filed Jan. 30, 1956 2 she ts-sheet 2 v, Rye

INVENTOR.

Rcxy T. WQ ihob AGENT v United States Patent DRUM HANDLING MECHANISM:

Ray T. Wa'chob, Penn Yan, N.Y., assignor to E. I. du Pont as Nemours and Company, Wilmington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Application January 30,,1-956,,Serial No. 562,083

4 Claims. (Cl. 248-129) This invention relates to a, mechanism for handling drums or other heavy cylindrical objects and particularly to a hand truck for tilting drums and for supporting the tilted drum while. being emptied or transported.

Hand trucks havebeen proposed for til-tingheavy barrelsand for supporting them in emptying, position. Such trucks have included a lifting foot, which must be inserted under the barrel, and a cumbersome chaining or other arrangement for holding the barrel against the truck while the barrel is being tilted from the vertical 'to a horizontal position.

The present invention relates to an improved hand truck which eliminates the need for holding chains and for lifting feet requiring insertion under the drum. It relates particularly to an improved hand truck for handling drums and other heavy cylindrical objects which are provided with rolling hoops, and it is an object of the invention to provide such an improved hand truck. Another object is -to provide a hand truck especially adapted for lifting and tilting a drum provided with rolling hoops from a vertical to a raised horizontal position, often preparatory to removing the contents of the drum through a top bung, for tilting and lowering a drum from a .raised horizontal position to a vertical position, and for transporting such a drum. Still further objects will be apparent from the following description.

The objects of the invention are realized, in general, by a mechanism of the hand truck type comprising a pair of parallel side bars whose forward ends serve as handles which may be bent downwardly so as also to serve as truck legs, and whose rearward ends are associated with curved supports serving as rocker members; and curved or concave drum supports between said parallel bars, at least one of said drum supports being semi-circular and including means for engaging the under side of a lower rolling hoop at opposite sides of the drum, and at least one of said drum supports being provided with means for engaging the upper side of a rolling hoop of said drum. The rocker members are preferably provided with wheels to permit transporting the drum in position on the mechanism.

The invention will be more clearly apparent from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which: K

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a hand truck constructed in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the truck of Fig. 1 in operative position against a vertically positioned drum;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the rearward end of the hand truck of Fig. 1 showing details of the lower drum support and its association with the side bars and rocker .support members;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view similar to that of Fig. 3 provided with a lower drum support of alternative design; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a truck constructed in accordance with the invention and provided with a lower drum support adapted for lifting the drum, and with a ice higher drum support adapted to prevent. tipping of the drum away from the truck. This figure shows the truck in operative positionagainst avertically positioned drum, both. the truck and the drum beingpartly cut away.

Drums and other heavycylindrical objects are generally provided with a plurality of encircling hoops to facilitate rolling the drum when in a horizontal position. Each such drum is usually provided with two or more. such rolling hoops. positioned along the length of the drum. so as. to carry theweightv of the-drum when it isin, a horizontal position for rolling. The rolling hoops are raised portions or ribs which provide encircling shoulders on the drum.

The hand truck illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3, includes two generally parallel side bars 1 Whose forward ends 2 serve as. handles. Handles 2 are shown bent downwardly so as to serve also as truck legs when the truck is in. the horizontal position, e.g. in a position for emptying the drum contents from a hung in the head of the drum. The rearward ends 3 of side bars 1 are secured, e.g. by Welding, to curved rocker members 4. Braces 5, shown as continuations. of rocker members 4, serve to, brace the rocker members from side bars 1. Secured to the rocker members 4 near their lower ends is an axle 6 provided with wheels 7 by means of which the truck. can be wheeled about when handles 2 are raised from the floor.

Side bars 1 are rigidly connected by transversely positioned. drum supports 8. and 9, both of which are curved so as to correspond generally to the curvature of the drum. Drum support 8 need be only long enough to span, the distance between side rs 1, and is shown connected, e.g. by welding, at its ends to side bars 1.

Drum support 9 should be in the form of approximatel a full semi-circle and is preferably of a, diameter slightly greater, eg. on the order of 0.25 to 0.5 in. greater, than the diameter of the drum so as to perm t the drum to nest easily within the curvature of the support.

Side :bars 1, rocker members 4, bra ces 5v and support 8 are preferably constructed of rods or tubing, although bars of any desired cross-sectional shape may beused. Drum, support 9 is preferably constructed of material having a V, L, U or similar cross-section. As shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, it is constructed of angle iron having legs of equal length. It is curved to follow the general curvature of the drum and is positioned be tween side bars 1 so that the lower rolling hoop 10 of a drum 11 will nest in the curved channel resulting from the V cross-sectional'shape of drum support 9, when the truck is placed against the drum as shown in Figure 2.

As shown in more detail in Figure 3, the end portions of the upper leg 12 of the angle iron of which drum support 9 is constructed are cut away so as to leave ends 13 of the lower leg of the angle iron. These ends 13 constitute means for engaging the under side of lower rolling hoop 10 at opposite sides of drum 11 to lift the drum when an operator, after positioning the truck against the drum as shown in Figure 2, braces a foot against, for example, axle 6 and pulls handles 2 towards himself. During such lifting, the upper part of the drum is prevented from tipping away from the truck by the contact made by the upper surface of lower rolling hoop 10 with the upper leg 12 of the angle iron of which support 9 is constructed. Thus, leg 12 of support 9, constitutes means for keeping the drum securely against the truck while the drum is being lifted and tilted from a vertical position on the floor to a horizontal position on the truck. It serves a similar function when the truck is used to tilt and lower a drum from a horizontal position on the truck to a vertical position on the floor.

The drum support which includes means for engaging the under side of a rolling hoop to lift the drum is preferably positioned alongside bars 1 so as to engage the lowermost rolling hoop of the drum. However, it can be positioned so as to engage any rolling hoop located below the center of gravity of the drum when the latter is in a vertical position.

Most preferably, the drum support having the means for engaging the under side of a lower rolling hoop to lift the drum will also include the means for engaging the upper side of a rolling hoop to prevent tipping of the drum away from the truck, as illustrated by drum support 9 of Figures 1, 2 and 3. However, the latter means may be provided on a separate drum support as shown in Figure 5, in which lower drum support 9 en gages only the under side of the lower rolling hoop 10 in the manner previously described while drum support 8 engages the upper side of a higher rolling hoop, e.g. a middle one, so as to prevent tipping of the drum away from the truck. In the embodiment shown in Figure 5, both drum supports 8 and 9 are constructed of angle iron, but the upper leg of the angle iron of which support 9 is constructed has been entirely cut away so that only support 8 serves to prevent tilting of the drum away from the truck. A third drum support 14 provides support for the upper part of the drum.

The upper leg 12 of the angle iron of which drum support 9 is constructed is preferably cut away only near the ends as shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3. It can, however, be cut away further so as to leave only a small central portion 15, as shown in Figure 4, which small portion is efiective to prevent the drum from tipping away from the truck. Any equivalent means such as a bar welded onto a curved drum support member and shaped so as to engage the upper side of a rolling hoop can also be used.

The present hand truck facilitates tilting and raising heavy drums provided with rolling hoops from a vertical to a horizontal position on the truck and in carrying out the reverse operation. No cumbersome chaining means is required to secure the drum to the truck during such operations, and it is not necessary to insert a lifting foot under the drum to place the truck in a position for carrying out such operations. Furthermore, the truck, when provided with wheels, can be used to transport the drum from place to place.

I claim:

1. A hand truck for lifting drums having a plurality of rolling hoops each in the form of a raised rib pro viding an encircling shoulder on the drum, said truck comprising a pair of side bars including forward handle portions and rearward end portions associated with curved rocker members, and a plurality of curved drum supports positioned between said side bars, at least one of said drum supports being generally semicircular and adapted to fit around a vertically disposed drum and including means for engaging the underside of the shoulder of a lower rolling hoop of said drum at opposite sides of said drum when said drum is being lifted by the truck, and at least one of said drum supports being provided with means for engaging the upper side of the shoulder of a rolling hoop of said drum to prevent tipping of the vertically disposed drum away from the truck when said vertically disposed drum is being lifted by the truck.

2. A hand truck according to claim 1 wherein the handles are bent downwardly so as also to serve as legs for the truck and wherein the curved rocker members are provided with wheels.

3. A hand truck according to claim 2 in which the means for engaging the under side of the shoulder of a rolling hoop and the means for engaging the upper side of the shoulder of a rolling hoop are provided on a single curved drum support positioned with respect to the side bars so as to engage the lowermost rolling hoop of the drum.

4. A hand truck according to claim 3 wherein said single curved drum support is generally semicircular and of a V-shaped cross-section except at its ends where the upper leg of the V is cut away, said drum support being positioned between said side bars so as to nest the lowermost rolling hoop of the drum in the curved channel provided by said V-shaped cross-section of said curved drum support.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,168,946 Leo Jan. 18, 1916 1,217,047 Morris Feb. 20, 1917 1,438,334 Sabin Dec. 12, 1922 1,460,266 Monroe June 26, 1923 1,738,096 Cole Dec. 3, 1929 1,815,825 Bates July 21, 1931 

